Taking steps toward democracy

by Kimball Shinkoskey, Cody Enterprise

I think most people would agree that democracy is under threat by forces on the left or on the right, or in the middle, or in a neighboring state or in our own state, or in the schools, or under the bed maybe or in the sky. Somewhere, somehow, forces either organized or just naturally occurring are stealing away what our ancestors had that made this country great.

So, what would a pro-democracy movement look like in the United States, or in your state or town? I think it would be something very humble and very local and might involve something as simple as walking and talking.

Great democracies like Rome, Athens, ancient Israel and America got their start through learning, physical movement and purposeful community action. People got tired of how things were going and got together to get something better started. The Old Testament portion of the Bible has a story about an effective “steps for democracy” program started by Moses. He said, let’s leave pharaoh’s Egypt, and walk to a place where we can get back to the democracy of our ancestors. They walked and walked and talked and talked, and when they finally got to Canaan they started a cross-tribal government based on 10 articles of government that we know today as the Ten Commandments.

Here is a rough proposal for starting an exodus from ignorant, sedentary, lonely living in our cities and towns. Why not get a neighborhood walking program started where neighbors get some fresh air and get to know each other at the same time? When we finish walking, it wouldn’t hurt to get together in someone’s home for a little conversation about democracy. This is what the original Christian church did in Rome. They met in friendly homes and talked about everything that concerned them. This movement would not be a church movement, but rather a very broad and non-partisan adult continuing education movement.

I’m going to propose the start of something like this in my own family, when we get together for a combined birthday/Super Bowl party this year. There will be six or seven of us, and I am going to propose that either before or after we eat, and probably during a portion of the football game, we break away from that time-honored, but lethargic cultural activity, and start a new one. We will take a few steps for democracy in my neighborhood, and probably take our dogs along with us.

What to talk about while walking or at an in-home meeting? Here is a very rough agenda. We need conversation or instruction about what democracy requires, other than just voting. Here is one basic discussion item that will inevitably pop up out of what we learn. We need “term limits” wherever there are folks in positions of power, including government power (all three branches), and probably even corporate power, education power, media power and military power. We even need democracy movements in our churches. We need to rotate people in and out of authority before power goes to people’s heads. We need to make room in leadership for minority people, smart people, young people, working people, poor people, female people and humane people.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Here is a little bit of history to help guide our thinking about term limits. Rome was the America of the ancient world. What made its civilization so great? Rome’s presidents, called consuls, were only allowed to serve for one single year before they were put out to pasture. They could run again for office later on, but their initial term of office served as a probationary period that the entire citizenry could use to observe their talents and their commitment to democracy. Most of our early American presidents believed that one four-year term was the absolute max we should have presidents serve in America. Rome left democracy in the dust when she allowed her leaders to stay in office for decades or a lifetime. That has already happened in our Congress and Supreme Court, and one or both of our political parties will be pushing for the same thing for the White House before long.